MUSCAT: March 1: The 7th International Conference on Health Issues in Arab Community began at Al Bustan Palace Hotel yesterday under the auspices of His Highness Sayyid Shihab bin Tareq al Said, Adviser to His Majesty the Sultan.
The conference, which will continue for several days, is organised by the Ministry of Health and the Arab Centre for Economic and Social Services in the US.

Government is to take steps to strengthen budget controls over the medium term, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said on Wednesday. Tabling his maiden Budget, Speech in the National Assembly, Minister Nene said that new Treasury instructions will contain costs and additional controls on personnel budgets will be designed. In addition, procurement reforms will be rolled out, including an online tender system that enhances public scrutiny, strengthens competition and levels the playing field for sma ...

South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 4.1% in the fourth quarter of 2014, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Tuesday. “Real gross domestic product at market prices increased by 4.1% quarter-on-quarter, seasonally adjusted and annualised,” said Stats SA. This growth was more than what markets had expected.

The State IT Agency (SITA), which now falls under the auspices of the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services, will invest in ICT infrastructure.
This is according to the 2015 Estimates of National Expenditure, and was revealed yesterday in documents released to supplement finance minister Nhlanhla Nene's Budget 2015 speech.
In addition to investing in unspecified ICT infrastructure, SITA will also focus on finalising its turnaround strategy over the next three years. These two as ...

The Department of Home Affairs, which is in the midst of a modernisation programme, will spend almost another R1 billion on a transversal IT management programme over the next three years. This amount has become available through savings from other programmes, it notes in the Estimates of National Expenditure document released this afternoon to coincide with the annual budget speech.

As of April, eligible citizens will be able to apply for their Smart ID Cards at the Home Affair’s kiosks in their nearest bank.
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba, said this when he led a briefing by government’s Governance and Administration Cluster at the Imbizo Media Centre in Parliament on Tuesday.The Minister said this would be a pilot project.

The Department of Trade and Industry (Dti) is today kicking off an Outward Selling and Investment Mission to Kenya and Tanzania.
The investment mission will see the Dti lead 31 local companies to the two countries from 16 to 20 February.
The mission aims to increase trade and investment between South Africa and the two countries.

The Gauteng government has announced three interventions to change the space and structure of the economy of the province in order to address unemployment, poverty and inequality.
Speaking during the State of the Province Address on Monday, Premier David Makhura said these interventions are spatial reconfiguration, township economy revitalisation and massive infrastructure investments that the provincial government will jointly undertake with municipalities and private sector partners.